Packaging for wrapping a floral grouping with a wrap having a wrap opening

ABSTRACT

A wrap having a wrap opening formed through a portion thereof for wrapping a floral grouping having a bloom end and a stem end. The stem end of the floral grouping is inserted through the wrap opening in the wrap and the wrap is formed about the floral grouping and encompasses a substantial portion of the floral grouping while a portion of the stem end of the floral grouping remains extended through the wrap opening in the wrap.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. Ser. No. 11/208,872, filedAug. 22, 2005, now abandoned; which is a continuation of U.S. Ser. No.10/441,800, filed May 20, 2003, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,155,879, issued Jan.2, 2007; which is a continuation-in-part of U.S. Ser. No. 09/970,589,filed Oct. 4, 2001, now abandoned; which is a continuation of U.S. Ser.No. 09/532,990, filed Mar. 22, 2000, now abandoned; which is acontinuation of U.S. Ser. No. 08/767,168, filed Dec. 16, 1996, nowabandoned; which is a continuation-in-part of U.S. Ser. No. 08/469,033,filed Jun. 6, 1995, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,615,774, issued Apr. 1, 1997;which is a continuation of U.S. Ser. No. 08/347,611, filed Nov. 30,1994, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,526,932, issued Jun. 18, 1996; which is acontinuation-in-part of U.S. Ser. No. 08/165,215, filed Dec. 10, 1993,now U.S. Pat. No. 5,373,943, issued Dec. 20, 1994; which is acontinuation of U.S. Ser. No. 08/040,330, filed Mar. 30, 1993, now U.S.Pat. No. 5,311,991, issued May 17, 1994; which is a divisional of U.S.Ser. No. 07/906,089, filed Jun. 29, 1992, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,205,108,issued Apr. 27, 1993; the entire contents of each of which are herebyexpressly incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a wrap for a floral grouping and amethod for wrapping a floral grouping with such wrap and, moreparticularly, but not by way of limitation, to a wrap having a wrapopening formed through a portion thereof wherein a stem end of thefloral grouping is extended through the wrap opening and the wrap thenis wrapped about the floral grouping.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a plan view of the upper surface of a wrap constructed inaccordance with the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view of the wrap of FIG. 1, taken substantiallyalong the lines 2-2 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view of the wrap of FIGS. 1 and 2 showing a floralgrouping having the stem end thereof initially inserted through a wrapopening in the wrap.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the wrap of FIGS. 1, 2 and 3 showing thewrap formed and wrapped about the floral grouping.

FIG. 5 is a sectional view of a wrap similar to that shown in FIG. 3,except the modified wrap shown in FIG. 5 has adhesive on the oppositesurface of the wrap as compared to the surface of the wrap having theadhesive thereon shown in FIGS. 1 through 4.

FIG. 6 is a sectional view of another modified wrap, similar to FIGS. 2and 5, except the wrap shown in FIG. 6 has adhesive on only a portion ofan upper surface thereof.

FIG. 7 is a sectional view of still another modified wrap, similar toFIG. 6, but the modified wrap shown in FIG. 7 has adhesive on only aportion of a lower surface thereof.

FIG. 8 is a sectional view of a wrap constructed exactly like the wrapshown in FIG. 6, except the modified wrap show in FIG. 8 comprises twosheets of material having a draw string laminated therebetween.

FIG. 9 is a perspective view of the wrap of FIG. 8 shown wrapped orformed about a floral grouping.

FIG. 10 is a sectional view showing the wrap of FIGS. 1 through 4 orFIG. 5 or FIG. 6 or FIG. 7 or FIG. 8 wrapped about a floral grouping andhaving a portion of the wrap connected to a water vase.

FIG. 11 is a perspective view of a floral sleeve utilized in accordancewith the present invention.

FIG. 12 is a perspective view of the wrap of FIGS. 1-4 showing the wrapformed and wrapped about the floral grouping, and the sleeve of FIG. 11holding the wrap in position about the floral grouping.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The present invention relates to a packaging comprising a wrap 10 (FIGS.1, 2 3 and 4) for wrapping a floral grouping 12 (FIGS. 3 and 4) having abloom end 14 and a stem end 16. The wrap 10 has an upper surface 18(FIGS. 1, 2 and 3) and a lower surface 20 (FIGS. 2, 3 and 4). The wrap10 also has an outer periphery 22 (FIGS. 1-4).

As shown in FIGS. 1-4, the wrap 10 is generally circularly shaped.However, the wrap 10 may be rectangularly shaped or square shaped or anyother geometric shape.

The wrap 10 is constructed of a sheet of material or a plurality ofsheets of material where the sheets of material are laminated to eachother or laid or disposed simply one on top of the other. The wrap 10may be constructed from a variety of materials. The wrap 10 isconstructed from any substantially flat, flexible suitable sheet ofmaterial that is capable of being wrapped about the floral grouping 12.Preferably, the wrap 10 is constructed of paper (untreated or treated inany manner), cellophane, foil, man-made organic polymer film, fabric(natural or synthetic), burlap, cling material, claff material, denim orlaminations or combinations thereof.

The term “man-made organic polymer film” means a man-made resin such asa polypropylene as opposed to naturally occurring resins such ascellophane.

A man-made organic polymer film is relatively strong and not as subjectto tearing (substantially non-tearable), as might be the case with paperor foil. The man-made organic polymer film is a substantially linearlylinked processed organic polymer film and is a synthetic linear chainorganic polymer where the carbon atoms are substantially linearlylinked. Such films are synthetic polymers formed or synthesized frommonomers. Further, a relatively substantially linearly linked processedorganic polymer film is virtually waterproof which may be desirable inmany applications such as wrapping a floral grouping.

Additionally a relatively thin film of substantially linearly linkedprocessed organic polymer does not substantially deteriorate insunlight. Processed organic polymer films having carbon atoms bothlinearly linked and cross linked, and some cross linked polymer films,also may be suitable for use in the present invention provided suchfilms are substantially flexible and can be made in a sheet-like formatfor wrapping purposes consistent with the present invention. Forexample, one man-made organic polymer film is a polypropylene film.

A decorative pattern, such as a color and/or an embossed pattern, and/orother decorative surface ornamentation may be applied to the uppersurface 18 and/or the lower surface 20 of the wrap 10 or portionsthereof including, but not limited to printed designs, coatings, colors,flocking or metallic finishes. The wrap 10 also may be totally orpartially clear or tinted transparent material.

The wrap 10 may be constructed of a single layer of material or aplurality of layers of the same or different types of materials. Anythickness of the wrap 10 may be utilized in accordance with the presentinvention as long as the wrap 10 is wrappable about the floral grouping12 as described herein. Additionally, an insulating material such asbubble film, preferable as one of two layers, can be utilized in orderto provide needed protection for the floral grouping 12. In a preferredembodiment, the wrap 10 is constructed from two polypropylene films (a20″×15″ sheet of Mobil 270 ABW white, opaque film laminated to a 20″×15″sheet of Mobil 220 AB clear film) having a thickness in a range of fromless than about 1.0 mil to about 30.0 mil, and more preferably to about10.0 mil.

“Floral grouping” as used herein means cut fresh flowers, artificialflowers, other fresh and/or artificial plants or other floral materialsand may include other secondary plants and/or ornamentation which add tothe aesthetics of the overall floral grouping 12. The term “floralgrouping” as used herein also is intended to include a single flower orplant.

“Cling Wrap or Material” as used herein means any material which iscapable of connecting to the sheet of material and/or itself uponcontacting engagement during the wrapping process and is wrappable aboutthe floral grouping 12 whereby portions of the cling materialcontactingly engage and connect to other portions of the wrappingmaterial for generally securing the wrap 16 wrapped about at least aportion of the floral grouping 12. This connecting engagement ispreferably temporary in that the wrap 10 may be easily removed withouttearing same, i.e., the cling material “clings” to the wrap 10. Awrapping material which remains securely connected to and about thewrapped item until the wrapping material is torn therefrom.

The cling material is constructed from polyethylene such as Cling Wrapmade by GLAD®, First Brands Corporation, Danbury, Conn., and treated, ifnecessary. The thickness of the cling material will, in part, dependupon the thickness of the sheet of material utilized, i.e., generally,the thicker and therefore heavier sheet of material may require athicker and therefore stronger cling material. The cling material willrange in thickness from less than about 0.2 mil to about 10 mil, andpreferably less than about 0.5 mil to about 2.5 mil and most preferablyfrom less than about 0.6 mil to about 2 mil. However, any thickness ofcling material may be utilized in accordance with the present inventionwhich permits the cling material to function as described herein.

A wrap opening 24 (FIGS. 1-4) is formed through a portion of the wrap10. In one embodiment, the wrap opening 24 is formed through a centralportion of the wrap 10; however, the wrap opening 24 may be formedthrough any portion of the wrap 10. The wrap opening 24 intersects theupper and lower surfaces 18 and 20 of the wrap 10 and is spaced adistance from the outer periphery 22. The wrap opening 24 may be one ormore shapes, such as but not limited to, a circle, square, rectangle,triangle, hexagon, polygon, or other geometric or non-geometric shapes,or the wrap opening 24 may be one or more slits in the wrap 10, as longas the wrap opening 24 intersects the upper and lower surfaces 18 and 20of the wrap 10 and is spaced a distance from the outer periphery 22, andas long as the wrap opening 24 functions in accordance with the presentinvention.

A bonding material 26, such as an adhesive or cohesive material, may beapplied to the a portion of the upper surface 18 of the wrap 10. Asshown in FIGS. 1, 2 and 3, the bonding material 26 is appliedsubstantially to the entire upper surface 18 of the wrap 10. The bondingmaterial 26 can be applied to the wrap 10 in strips or spots and maycover only a portion of the upper and/or lower surfaces 18 and 20. Thethickness of the bonding material 26 is exaggerated in FIGS. 1-3 forillustration purposes. However, it is to be understood that the wrap 10may be free of bonding material.

In operation, the stem end 16 of the floral grouping 12 is insertedthrough the wrap opening 24 to a position wherein a portion of the stemend 16 extends through the wrap opening 24 and a distance beyond thelower surface 20 of the wrap 18. The wrap 10 then is formed about thefloral grouping 12 with the upper surface 18 of the wrap 10 beingdisposed adjacent the floral grouping 12 and the wrap 10 encompassing asubstantial portion of the floral grouping 12 while a portion of thestem end 16 of the floral grouping 12 remains extended through the wrapopening 24, as shown in FIG. 4. In one preferred form, the wrap 10 willsubstantially encompass the bloom end 14 of the floral grouping 12,although the bloom end 14 is shown in FIG. 4 extended above the wrap 10for illustration purposes. It should be noted that, in someapplications, the bloom end 14 of the floral grouping 12 may extendupwardly beyond the wrap 10, as shown in FIG. 4.

Preferably, the wrap 10 is tightly folded or wrapped about the stem end16 of the floral grouping 12 and portions of the wrap 10 with thebonding material 26 thereon are brought into contact and bonded withother portions of the wrap 10 having the bonding material 26 thereon forcooperating to secure the wrap 10 tightly wrapped about the stem end 16of the floral grouping 12. Further, as the wrap 10 is formed about thebloom end 14 of the floral grouping 12, portions of the wrap 10 havingthe bonding material 26 thereon are brought into contact and bonded withadjacent portions of the wrap 10 with the bonding material thereon toform bonded overlapping folds 28 to secure the wrap 10 loosely wrappedabout the bloom end 14 of the floral grouping 12. Portions of thebonding material 26 also are brought into contact with and bonded withportions of the stem end 16 of the floral grouping 12 thereby bondingthe wrap 10 to the floral grouping 12 generally about a portion of thestem end 16 for securing the wrap 10 to the floral grouping 12 and forsubstantially preventing the floral grouping 12 from sliding or movingwithin or out from the wrap 10. The overlapping folds 28 are formed byportions of the wrap 10 overlapping and engaging adjacent portions ofthe wrap 10 with the bonding material 26 bonding the overlapping andadjacent portions.

Embodiment of FIG. 5

Shown in FIG. 5 is a modified wrap 10 a which is constructed exactlylike the wrap 10 shown in FIGS. 1-4 and described in detail before,except the wrap 10 a is provided with a bonding material 26 a disposedon the lower surface 20 a of the wrap 10 a. The wrap 10 a is wrappedabout the floral grouping in a manner exactly like that described beforewith respect to the wrap 10, except the bonding material 26 a will notbond to the stem end 16 of the floral grouping 12. Rather, overlappingfolds like the overlapping folds 28 are formed in the wrap 10 agenerally about the stem end 16 and the overlapping folds cooperate tosecure the wrap 10 a tightly wrapped about the stem end 16.

Embodiment of FIG. 6

Shown in FIG. 6 is a wrap 10 b which is constructed exactly like thewrap 10 shown in FIGS. 1-4, except the wrap 10 b is provided with abonding material 26 b disposed on the upper surface 18 b of the modifiedwrap 10 b adjacent the wrap opening 24 b, and the bonding material 26 bextends a distance from the wrap opening 24 b. The wrap 10 b is wrappedabout the floral grouping in a manner exactly like that described beforewith respect to the wrap 10, with the bonding material 26 b cooperatingto tightly secure the wrap 10 b about the stem end 16 of the floralgrouping 12, except the overlapping folds formed in the wrap 10 bextending generally about the bloom end 14 of the floral grouping 12 arenot bonded since the bonding material 26 b does not extend to the outerperiphery 22 b. The bonding material 26 b extends only from the wrapopening 24 b a distance outwardly toward the outer periphery 22 b and isspaced a distance from the outer periphery 22 b.

Embodiment of FIG. 7

Shown in FIG. 7 is a wrap 10 c constructed exactly like the wrap 10 bshown in FIG. 6, except the wrap 10 c is provided with a bondingmaterial 26 c disposed on the lower surface 20 c of the wrap 10 c.

Embodiment of FIGS. 8 and 9

Shown in FIGS. 8 and 9 is another modified wrap 10 d, the wrap 10 dbeing only partially shown in FIG. 8. The wrap 10 d is constructedexactly like the wrap 10 b (FIG. 6) or the wrap 10 c (FIG. 7) except thewrap 10 d specifically comprises two sheets of material 30 and 32 (FIG.8) laminated together with an opening 34 being formed between the twosheets of material 30 and 32 near and spaced a distance from the outerperiphery 22 d of the wrap 10 d and with a drawstring 36 extendingthrough the opening 34 between the two sheets of material 30 and 32 andwith the opposite ends of the drawstring 36 extending outwardly throughopenings 38 and 40 in the wrap 10 d, as shown in FIG. 9.

In this embodiment, the wrap 10 d is tightly wrapped about the stem end16 and secured thereto via the bonding material 26 b or 26 c in a mannerexactly like that described before. The wrap 10 d is loosely securedabout the bloom end 14 of the floral grouping 12 by pulling thedrawstring 36 and then tying the drawstring 36 after the wrap 10 d hasbeen loosely gathered and secured about the bloom end 14 of the floralgrouping 12.

Embodiment of FIG. 10

Shown in FIG. 10 is a wrap 10 e which is constructed exactly like thewrap 10, 10 a, 10 b, 10 c or 10 d described in detail before except awater vase 42 is secured to the wrap opening 24 e. The water vase 42 hasan opening 44 for receiving and accommodating water and a cap 46 with acap opening 48 formed thereto secured to an upper end of the water vase42. The cap 46 is constructed of a flexible material preferably.

The water vase 42 may be secured to the wrap 10 e prior to forming thewrap 10 e about the floral grouping 12 or the wrap 10 e may be securedto the water vase 42 during the wrapping operation.

In those instances where the water vase 42 is secured via the bondingmaterial (not shown) to the wrap 10 e with the opening 44 of the watervase 42 being aligned with the wrap opening 24 e, the stem end 16 of thefloral grouping 12 is inserted through the wrap opening 24 e and througha cap opening 48 and into the opening 44 in the water vase 42 with thestem end 16 being secured to the wrap 10 e via the engagement with thecap 46. The wrap 10 e then is wrapped about the bloom end 14 and looselysecured thereabout in the manners described before.

In those instances where the wrap 10 e is not initially connected to thewater vase 42 e, the stem end 16 of the floral grouping 12 initially isinserted through the cap opening 48 and into the opening 44 of the watervase 42. Then, the water vase 42 along with the floral grouping 12 isinserted through the wrap opening 24 e and the wrap 10 e to a positionwherein a portion of the water vase 42 along with a portion of the stemend 16 of the floral grouping 12 extends through the wrap opening 24 eand extends a distance beyond the lower surface 20 e of the wrap 10 e.In this position, the wrap 10 e is tightly secured to the water vase 42via the bonding material (not shown) and the wrap 10 e is looselywrapped and secured about the bloom end 14 of the floral grouping 12 inany one of the manners described before.

Embodiment of FIGS. 11-12

Shown in FIGS. 11 and 12 is a sleeve 100 that may be utilized inaccordance with the present invention. The sleeve 100 is provided withan upper end 102, a lower end 104, an outer peripheral surface 106, aninner peripheral surface 108 and a retaining space 110. The lower end104 of the sleeve 100 may be open or closed.

The sleeve 100 may be utilized to hold the wrap 10 in a secure positionabout the floral grouping 12 when the wrap 10 is not provided with abonding material disposed thereon. In one method of use, the wrap 10 iswrapped and formed about the floral grouping 12 as described hereinbefore, and then the wrap 10 and floral grouping 12 are inserted throughthe upper end 102 of the sleeve 100 into the retaining space 110 of thesleeve. The inner peripheral surface 108 of the sleeve 100 is disposedadjacent the lower surface 20 of the wrap 10 such that the sleeve 100closely surrounds and encompasses the wrap 10 containing the floralgrouping 12. The lower end 104 of the sleeve 100 is disposed adjacentthe stem end 16 of the floral grouping 12, while the upper end 102 ofthe sleeve 100 is disposed adjacent the bloom end 14 of the floralgrouping 12. A potion of the bloom end 14 of the floral grouping 12 mayextend beyond the upper end 102 of the sleeve 100, or the bloom end 14of the floral grouping 12 may be substantially encompassed by the sleeve100.

Changes may be made in the construction in the operation of the variouscomponents, elements and assemblies of the wrap described herein andchanges may be made in the steps or the sequence of steps of the methodsdescribed herein without departing from the spirit and the scope of theinvention as defined in the following claims.

1. A packaging comprising: a floral grouping having a bloom end and astem end; and at least one sheet of material having an upper surface, alower surface and an outer periphery, the sheet of material having anopening formed through a portion of the sheet of material intersectingthe upper and the lower surfaces of the sheet of material and spaced adistance from the outer periphery of the sheet of material, the stem endof the floral grouping being inserted through the opening in the sheetof material to a position wherein the stem end of the floral groupingextends a distance beyond the lower surface of the sheet of material andthe sheet of material being formed about the floral grouping with theupper surface of the sheet of material being disposed adjacent thefloral grouping and the sheet of material encompassing a substantialportion of the floral grouping while a portion of the stem end of thefloral grouping remains extended through the opening in the sheet ofmaterial.
 2. The packaging of claim 1 further comprising: a water vasehaving an opening extending therethrough forming an open upper end andforming a space for receiving and accommodating water and a cap with acap opening secured to the open upper end of the water vase, the stemend of the floral grouping extending through the cap opening in thewater vase with the cap engaging portions of the stem end of the floralgrouping for securing the floral grouping in the water vase.
 3. Thepackaging of claim 1 wherein the sheet of material is further defined asbeing constructed of a material selected from the group consisting ofpaper, foil, polymeric film, fabric, burlap, denim and combinationsthereof.
 4. The packaging of claim 3 wherein the sheet of material isfurther defined as being constructed of a synthetic fabric.
 5. Thepackaging of claim 3 wherein the sheet of material is further defined asbeing constructed of at least one sheet of synthetic fabric and at leastone sheet of polymeric film.
 6. The packaging of claim 3 wherein thesheet of material has a thickness in a range of from about 1.0 mil toabout 30 mil.
 7. The packaging of claim 1 wherein the sheet of materialis tightly wrapped about the stem end of the floral grouping.
 8. Thepackaging of claim 1 wherein the sheet of material is loosely securedabout the bloom end of the floral grouping.